Life Sciences, Layoffs, Alzheimer's disease

Epix Pharma Halves Workforce

Ryan McBride 3/12/09

Lexington, MA-based Epix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EPIX), a developer of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease and Cystic Fibrosis, says that it plans to cut half of its workers immediately to reduce expenses. The cuts will affect a total of 44 workers, with 33 of the employees losing their jobs in Massachusetts, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The company expects the cuts to save it $4.4 million in annual salary and benefits costs. The savings also reflect CEO Elkan Gamzu’s decision to reduce his annual base salary by 50 percent. We’ve added these job cuts to our Boston Tech Layoff Tracker.

Ryan McBride is Xconomy's correspondent. You can reach him at rmcbride@xconomy.com, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Ryan_McBride.